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Gaignun Kukai
Gaignun Kukai, original name Nigredo, is the chairman of the Kukai Foundation, a special organization based in Second Miltia. He has a gentle personality and is well respected both within and outside the Foundation. Nigredo is a genetically altered clone of Dr. Dmitri Yuriev, along with Rubedo (Jr.) and Albedo, but they consider themselves brothers. However, due to the fact that cloning is now considered taboo, Jr. charades as Gaignun's adopted son. Background Yuriev Institute Gaignun Kukai is U.R.T.V. Unit #669, who is a biological weapon designed to combat U-DO. U.R.T.V. Unit #669 is nicknamed Nigredo, a reference to his black hair. Gaignun can telepathically communicate with Jr. and Albedo and can use his voice to hypnotically manipulate people, if need be he can telekinetically destroy a person. Miltian Conflict During the Miltian Conflict, Rubedo and the other URTVs fought against U-DO before the planet's disappearance into the void. A moment before the U.R.T.V.s were to destroy U-DO, Rubedo had a vision of the Old Miltian planet being destroyed when something monstrous emerged from within. Rubedo, fearing for the lives of his companions, broke the Spiritual Link leaving the other URTVs with no protection against U-DO. U-DO slew or drove mad all of the standard U.R.T.V.s, as well as Albedo during the fighting, Rubedo carried an injured Nigredo several minutes before Canaan and chaos rescued the U.R.T.V. duo on the E.S. Asher. Therefore, the only documented surviving U.R.T.V.s were Nigredo and Rubedo, though Albedo survived as well. U.R.T.V. #668 Citrine secretly survived the Miltian Conflict as well. Kukai Foundation "Kukai" was a fictional persona created by the Second Miltian government as a means to pool their special operation funds. Following the Miltian Conflict and Helmer's rescue of Gaignun and Jr., they took on the Kukai surname to justify and establish the Kukai Foundation. This also allowed the U.R.T.V. units to live their lives more normally. Taken in by Helmer after the Miltian Conflict, Gaignun inherited the name of "Zoze Kukai" upon establishment of the Foundation. Incidentally, "Zoze Kukai" is the name of a fictitious industrialist invented by the Second Miltian government in order to pool special activities capital. Xenosaga Episode I Gaignun is first introduced to the main party when they first enter the Kukai Foundation, Shion however upon meeting him felt that she had just apparently acted quite rude to him while shaking his hand and noticing his #669 brand on the palm of his hand, possibly alluding that even Shion was able to see or detect Gaignun's powers and true nature. Afterwards Gaignun is arrested by Lapis Roman on allegations of treason along with most of the main party and put into a separate holding facility until the main party had proved the Kukai Foundation's innocence through KOS-MOS's triple A data recordings shortly prior to Albedo first using the Song of Nephilim. When Albedo eventually did use the Song of Nephilim, only Gaignun, chaos and Jr. could hear the song being played at first while on the Durandal. On the bridge almost immediately after, Gaignun and Jr. conversed telepathically over the proceedings until Shion was able to faintly hear the song being played. As the ending credits roll Gaignun is seen one last time discussing the status quo with Helmer over a video link, commenting that a vortex of temptation and obsession still remains in the aftermath of the game's climax and finally adds that Albedo is being drawn into it all just the same. Xenosaga Episode II He is first requested by Helmer when arriving on Miltia with MOMO. To obtain reconnaissance information from a brief conversation with Albedo via a telepathic link in order to gain insight into Albedo's plans for the future tense, the two converse with Gaignun offering to come to terms with Albedo at the time but Albedo was only interested in goading his brother and even goes as far as calling him two-faced when Gaignun kinetically destroyed Albedo's right arm at one point during the conversation when Albedo had threatened Rubedo's life. Later on flashbacks occur when the main team take subconscious dives into Sakura Mizarhi's mind in order to allow her to speak once again. These adventures showed the rift growing between the trio of U.R.T.V. units, which eventually led to a breakdown during the Miltian Conflict, causing Albedo to come into contact with U-DO and become insane. At the end of Episode II, Gaignun suffers from a double personality; one part is Gaignun, the other is Dmitri Yuriev, his father. Dmitri most likely created Gaignun just as a host for his consciousness, for he somehow transmigrated into his body at the time of his "death" in T.C. 4753 when Gaignun as Nigredo in his childhood had apparently shot and killed his father. Yuriev awakened in Gaignun's body during the events of Episode II. Although Gaignun's consciousness now struggles to regain control of his own body, Yuriev currently has complete control of him and first makes his renewed presence known to Pellegri on a video link, tasking her to tell her superiors that he is not dying. Gaignun's dilemma throughout the series had always been secretly that he had struggled with the notion of eventually killing his own brother Rubedo, a task that was highlighted by Albedo earlier during their telepathic link in Episode II in which he had known about Gaignun/Nigredo's true form for many years. In truth his actual creation and very meaning to his own existence was to simply monitor his own brother Rubedo and if necessary terminate his life, to this end Yuriev had secretly implemented a second Red Dragon drive inside of Nigredo in the expressed purpose of rivaling Rubedo's power but as we see in Gaignun's nature he hides it all the way throughout the series. Xenosaga Episode III Gaignun's story comes full circle resulting in his eventual redemption when he comes to terms with what he is and had always been, Albedo arriving as a Testament during Yuriev's power bid after kidnapping Abel and the Zohar sheds some light on the fact that Gaignun had presumably let his own father take control of his body during the takeover with the thoughts of making his father proud somehow. As Albedo and Jr. initiate a link in order for Gaignun to be sent into Jr.'s body while Albedo in his Testament form would be sent into another dimension with their father Yuriev still in Gaignun's body. Gaignun however seeing through Albedo's feelings during this link expresses that he does not like taking orders and makes a desperate attempt at switching this vis a vis of minds around however resulting in Albedo's mind being thrown into Jr.'s body evidently reuniting the twin brothers for the first time in one body since their very birth. Saying his farewells to Rubedo/Jr. inside of Albedo's Testament body, Gaignun shows his brother his true form and tells him that his duty to keep watch over him has now ended or rather that he had wanted it to be over, but admits that if he had denied his nature in the end he would have been literally denying his own existence regardless. Jr. makes a last-ditch attempt at saving him by telling him they were always friends as Gaignun/Nigredo offers to him that he'd like to play with his brothers again someday as he is sent into another dimension. Etymology Gaignun shares his name with the horse Roland, a general of medieval French King Charlemange and wielder of the legendary blade Durandal rode into battle on. Kukai is also the name of a famous Japanese Buddhist monk; Buddhist undertones can also be seen in Xenosaga. The name Nigredo refers to the philosophic beliefs of Carl Jung, who believed that the process of self-realization has three major steps, which he named using terms derived from alchemy, which he studied prior to developing his theories. These three steps are known as Negredo, the death of the old, perceived self, Albedo, the discovering of one’s inner identity, and Rubedo, the process of living a self-aware life. In the series, Jr. and Gaignun both raised a cat named Gaignun, which is the origin of Nigredo's alias. Gallery Kuk1.png|Concept art. Kuk.jpg|Gaignun Kukai. Dmitri.png|Gaignun possessed by Dmitri Yuriev. Category:Characters Category:Male characters Category:Deceased Category:U.R.T.V. units